Friday, July 25

Happy Anniversary to US!

Today is our 55th anniversary!! And we both nearly forgot...again!

Ketch Up

The door is on and now we are secure against the elements and any possible intruders. Russ and Butch worked on the fascia yesterday and will start on siding today. After the siding I will GET to help because the painting will be part of the process. There really is not much surface to paint so it should not take long.

Last night was the first beginners computer class. There were 4 people in attendance and none had a computer. Now that is taking it from the beginning!! Two of them will have theirs by next Thursday. They are purchasing Chromebooks. The school system here uses Chromebooks for their students for all the same reasons I encourage new people to go that way.

1. They are trouble free. There are no moving parts thus eliminating many of the issues of a regular laptop, like overheating, virus invasion, hard drive overload or malfunction, updates and maintenance. And they are very inexpensive. $200-$250.

2. Sharing a computer has never been easier than with a chromebook. Each person has their own sign in identity. Now that has been true on a regular computer for a long time but what is different is that if you went to the library and signed into your google account everything would be the same as when you signed in at home on your Chromebook. Everything syncs because your account and all your computing files etc are in "the cloud".

3. 95% of all the things you can do on a regular computer can be done on a Chromebook. The exception being specialized software such as a farm program where the software must be loaded on the computer.

4. And if all students are using either the Chrome browser on their own laptop or the Chromebook they are then all on the same page as far as teaching is concerned. It makes it much easier to teach when everyone is using the same system. It eliminates the need for such questions as "What operating system are you using?" Everyone has access to Chrome no matter what kind of computer they have or the operating system on that computer.

So everything went smoothly last night and I was pleased with the start.

While I was talking computing Butch and Russ went to the girls softball  finals in Fort Dodge because Jefferson is in the competition. The weather kind of screwed things up and made for a delay so they did not start until very late. The guys came home and then Butch listened to the game on the radio long after I was in bed. Jefferson ended up losing 4-0 but none of the girls are seniors so they should be a force to be reckoned with next year. They will be playing for 3rd or 4th place today. It has been an exciting week for Jefferson fans.

And that about sums things up.

Wednesday, July 23

Windows are in!!




Between 3 and 5 PM yesterday Russ and Butch installed 8 windows. Blew me away!! I could hardly believe how that went. The door should go in today and then they will begin the siding. Once the door is in we will no longer concern ourselves with weather. However we have been blessed with superb weather for the past two to three weeks. We are happy!!....but then we always are so this is just more happy!

Farmers Market Night

Greene County Iowa Courthouse
Each Tuesday night from 4-6 PM the farmers market is on the square in Jefferson and one of the organizations around town will be selling a meal for a fundraiser. We always go to see what's offered and oftentimes eat our meal there. Last night it was pork loin sandwiches, baked beans, chips, dessert and water for $6. And it was very tasty.

Lifelong friend Estel Ott- We joined Estel for supper.  Estel and his late wife Joann were friends with my parents. They used to take fishing trips together and played cards. Those were the days they did activities that didn't take a large layout of cash. Many of my earliest life memories are warmly wrapped around Estel and Joann.

Tuesday, July 22

More weekend stuff

Mickey got mostly moved in. She says she is a bad judge of space so she will have to go back to get what wouldn't fit.
Russ has been sidelined by another project and the fact the Jefferson softball girls made it to state and are competing this week in Fort Dodge. Their next game is Thursday. Our windows have been delivered and are sitting here waiting. Butch doesn't think it will take him long to do but sometimes Butch is not a good judge of time.
Butch just returned from talking to Russ and he will be here a little later.

Ethan takes up golf!


Monday, July 21

Sherri and I left home on bikes at 6:15AM and rode to the river bridge and back. And then met up with Colleen for our regular walk. We had prepared a crockpot breakfast casserole so the guys ate breakfast while we were gone.
Here is the recipe:

Slow Cooker Egg Brunch Casserole
Ingredients -10 servings
 6 slices bacon, or more to taste
 1 onion, chopped
 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
 1 clove garlic, minced
 1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
 12 eggs
 1 cup whole milk
 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
 salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray.
Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels and crumble.
Spray a skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat; cook and stir onion, red bell pepper, and garlic until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir potatoes into onion mixture. Spoon 1/3 the potato mixture into the slow cooker; add 1/3 the bacon and 1/3 the Cheddar cheese. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients, ending with cheese.
Whisk eggs, milk, dill, salt, and pepper together in a bowl; pour over ingredients in slow cooker.
Cook on Low, 8 to 10 hours.



 These photos are also ones Sherri took. You can see we share an interest in a certain subject for photos. Barb rides!!
                     This first one is a big red sunrise!





                             This is the foursome who used a Groupon at the Cedar Pointe golf course in Boone Iowa. L to R Jason Brooker, Randy and Sherri Clark and Butch Brooker

                                Randy and Sherri Clark
                                       Hi you all!!

After golf  we enjoyed a great meal of Iowa Chops, green beans with onion and bacon, sweet corn, salad followed by pie- Key Lime and Pecan
 provided by Keri Brooker!

While the golf was being played we enjoyed the company of Ethan who is staying with Nana Laura and Papa Jason this week.

It was a full and fun weekend but this old lady wears out much faster than I used to. The bed was yelling very loudly to me last night and I could hardly wait to get there!




Full and Fun weekend

It may take me all week to tell you about our weekend. Our friends Randy and Sherri Clark from Atlantic Iowa came to Jefferson on Saturday morning and after lunch the guys headed to the golf course while Sherri and I boarded bikes for a ride to Cooper and back. We didn't plan on going to Cooper as we decided to take it in bits and see if we were up to it. There was a stiff wind out of the south but when the trail is canopied in many areas it makes it more pleasant. So there were stretches without tree protection that were more of a challenge but we kept plugging away with the anticipation that it would be giving us a nice push on the way back.
Photographer Sherri Clark





When we returned to Jefferson we were parched so we rode out to the A&W for a Root Beer Float. Shortly after we returned and put our feet up a bit the guys returned from the golf course and we enjoyed a margarita. One of Butch's kick butt margaritas! And then we toured Jefferson a bit and then went to Casa de Oro for a mexican supper. After supper we toured the area some more and ended up at Colleens house. Not planned just dropped by to see if it would work for a visit and it did. 

                                   
                                                  Hilltop motel            


                                         Colleen's pergola
                                       Colleen is a stacker of rocks.
                                 and a picker of flowers...
                               and a whole lot of fun.

Colleen was telling Sherri that her son lived in Reno NV and Sherri says, "My sister lives in Reno!" Colleen says, "My son works for UPS". Sherri says, "My sister and her husband both work for UPS!" It turns out they know each other and have for a long time!  
So we had a great time!

To be continued....